When the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' followers on the Jewish festival of Pentecost, it was clear things would never be the same. Transcending history, cultures, and national identities, Jerusalem was ground zero as the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit was coming down and going forth to make dead hearts come alive in Christ. When the mighty ac…

It's been well said that for forgiveness to take place, it only takes one of the aggrieved to forgive the other. But for reconciliation to take place it takes two, or both parties, to so engage. More astoundingly is that the God of the Universe has initiated peace and reconciliation with His enemies--and that would include us! Romans 5:1-2 says: "T…

1 Peter 2:2-5 says: "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. You are coming to Christ, who is the Living Cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for g…

Jesus' brother, James, has much to say about genuine faith and accompanying works. In James 1:22-25 he writes: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at …

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says: "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, h…

Jesus chose a young John to be one of His disciples. With his brother James, our Lord nicknamed the pair, the Sons of Thunder. But eventually John would be known as the Apostle of love, referring to himself in his own gospel as "The disciple whom Jesus loved." John also became the author of the book of Revelation. Perhaps no other Biblical account …

As Joshua prepares to slip into the presence of the Lord he's so faithfully served, he gathers God's people for a farewell address. Joshua 24:14-15 gives us a smidgeon of that potent sermon: “Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LOR…

Colossians 3:1-4 says: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear w…

In Luke 20:7-12 the good doctor shares the account of a young man named Eutychus who falls out of church; literally. Paul's preaching had continued till midnight and the lad, sitting on the windowsill, falls asleep, then drops out of the three story window to his death! Paul and the rest of the folks rush to his side and God uses Paul to resurrect …

When we consider God's calling of Elisha along with other OT saints and juxtapose them with those in the NT who fervently followed after Jesus, we can declare with confidence--they were ALL IN! Hebrews 11 is rightly called The Hall of Faith as it honors many of God's people who remained fiercely faithful to our Lord, even unto death. But as we admi…